Problem: If $6a^2 + 5a + 4 = 3,$ then what is the smallest possible value of $2a + 1$?
Answer: We proceed as follows: \begin{align*}
6a^2 + 5a + 4 &= 3\\
6a^2 + 5a + 1 &= 0\\
(2a + 1)(3a + 1) &= 0.
\end{align*}This gives us $a = -\frac{1}{2}$ or $a = -\frac{1}{3}.$ Of these, $a = -\frac{1}{2}$ gives the smaller value of $2a + 1 = \boxed{0}.$